Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2007 June 6

= June 6 =

pearl jam
Where did the name pearl jam originate?


 * Our article Pearl Jam contains some answers. In an older version, it answered more fully:

In an early promotional interview Eddie Vedder claimed that the name "Pearl Jam" was a reference to his great-grandmother Pearl, who was married to a Native American and had a special recipe for peyote-laced jam. This story seems to have been invented by Vedder as a joke. Another theory put forward in Kim Neely's band history Five Against One holds that one of the band members really wanted "pearl" in the new name, and jamming is a common activity done by musicians. In a Rolling Stone cover story, Ament and McCready admitted that Ament came up with "Pearl." "Jam" was added after the band members saw Neil Young live: Legend has it that Vedder wrote the lyrics to the songs in one burst, while surfing. That particular story, he tells me in his Chicago hotel room, is "100% true." But he concedes that another oft-told tale is less accurate: that the name Pearl Jam came from Vedder's great-grandmother Pearl, who, he used to claim, was married to an American Indian and was in the habit of making preserves spiked with various hallucinogenics. His great-grandma really was named Pearl. The rest is, indeed, "total bullshit." Told of Vedder's admission, Ament and McCready seem relieved. They cough up the true—if less romantic—tale behind the band's name. Brainstorming in a Seattle restaurant to come up with something, anything, to replace their original name, Mookie Blaylock (inspired by the NBA star), Ament came up with "pearl." The band didn't settle on the second half of its name until a 1991 trip to New York to sign a deal with Epic Records. Gossard, Vedder and Ament drove out to see Neil Young play Nassau Coliseum. "He played, like, nine songs over three hours. Every song was like a fifteen- or twenty-minute jam," says Ament. "So that's how 'jam' got added on to the name. Or at least that's how I remember it.

In a past interview Eddie Vedder spoke about the "pearl" portion of the name: I feel that the best justification for the name is in reference to the pearl itself...and the natural process from which a pearl comes from....Basically, taking excrement or waste and turning it into something beautiful....This is how our band began...taking emotions that we wrestled with personally and letting them evolve into songs....In this way the songs became vehicles in which to deal with it all....Add the volume of loud instruments, amplified vocals...moving chord changes....And it wasn't just shit anymore....It was kind of beautiful...powerful...uncultured! As Johnny Rotten would say later, "anger is an energy"....And shit can be beautiful. The proof is in the pearl.


 * In addition, it may intrigue you to view the Urban Dictionary entries. Skittle 00:10, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Soccer tactics
How much effective would be blocking the goal line by defenders (for instance during the corner kick, certainly with the goalkeeper in the middle) so that the only way to achieve a goal would be a strike over their heads? --Brand спойт 12:26, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * The problem with this is that, if all the defenders are on the goal line, most of the attackers waiting for the corner would be unmarked. It would then be a fairly simple matter to shoot, or head, the ball over the defenders' heads and into the goal. It's better to stop the attackers from gaining a scoring opportunity from the corner in the first place. --Richardrj talkemail 12:39, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Something similar used to happen for a while in the UK after the rule change banning goal keepers from handling back passes to them. If a keeper picked up the ball in the goal area it resulted in a free kick, often inside the goal area. This would result in a line of players on or very near the goal line and usually resulted in the opposing team either blasting the ball at the wall and hoping for a gap to appear or passing sideways and then trying to get the ball behind the wall. - X201 15:35, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Musical instrument
Hi, I was wondering what is the name for the musical instrument in those pictures. Does anyone know?

Image:Annapurna Devi.jpg

Image:Sighbandresize.jpg

Thanks in advance!

ZOUAVMAN LE ZOUAVE 16:56, 6 June 2007 (UTC)


 * The caption in the Annapurna Devi article says it's a surbahar. Clarityfiend 17:47, 6 June 2007 (UTC)


 * The instument shown for sigh band looks smaller to me. Since the article for surbarhar says that it is a bass sitar, then I would imagine that sighband's insrument is probably a regular sitar.  In addition, one of the Sigh_%28band%29 members is listed with sitar credits. -Czmtzc 20:04, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * A s(i)tar is born. Clarityfiend 06:44, 7 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks a lot! :) I should use this more often! ZOUAVMAN LE ZOUAVE  21:06, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

wiki volenteers
do you get payed.


 * No. Volunteers do not get paid.--Shantavira|feed me 17:06, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * No, but if anybody's offering, I volunteer. Clarityfiend 17:47, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Yes. I have a day job which pays me quite well. Also thank you for eschewing use of the question mark. The only thing worse in punctuation is the exclamation mark. - Zepheus &lt;ゼィフィアス&gt; 18:26, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * You will surely go to Grammarians' Hell for leading our dear questioners down the garden path! Won't you?  --  JackofOz 23:43, 6 June 2007 (UTC)


 * "Volunteers" a wonderful album by Jefferson Airplane is regularly played in my house.hotclaws 10:43, 7 June 2007 (UTC)

It wasn't a question. He is commanding all wiki "volenteers" (a nickname for fans of the music group "Volen") to do the new dance "you get payed", which is a modern offshoot of the even lesser-known "the you got played." NoClutter 15:07, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

Smallest football-playing nation?
Which country has the smallest population and yet competes on an international level in (men's) football? By "competes", I mean regularly competes - not just a one-off friendly, but regular attempts at qualification for major international/regional tournaments? Batmanand | Talk 17:59, 6 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Probably San Marino, which has made four attempts to qualify for the World Cup (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006), and with a population of 31,000, seems to be the smallest country on List of countries by population to have made any attempts to qualify. Carom 18:29, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * As an addendum, San Marino has only earned two points in 36 qualifying matches, a 0-0 draw against Turkey in 1993, and a 1-1 draw against Latvia in 2001.
 * They've also attempted to qualify for the European championships on four occasions (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004), but have yet to record a point in the qualifying stages. Carom 23:02, 6 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Does Gibraltar count? Corvus cornix 23:35, 6 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Possibly, although I'm not sure if the Island Games or the FIFI Wild Cup constitute major international/regional competitions. They were denied membership in UEFA as well, for what that's worth. Carom 23:48, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
 * The Cook Islands (population 18,700 according to the article on the Cook Islands, 13,000 according to Carom's list) have competed for Oceania Nations and World Cup qualifications, without ever qualifying. The article describes them as "one of the weakest teams in the world." Montserrat (population 4,488 or 5,900, see above) has competed for World and Gold Cup qualifications. And they also competed and lost 0:4 against Bhutan in The Other Final. ---Sluzzelin  talk  10:47, 7 June 2007 (UTC)